


You Might Have to Stick Around

by palmtreesgoodnight



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25234861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/palmtreesgoodnight/pseuds/palmtreesgoodnight
Summary: After a hard case Emily and Reid face their feelings.
Relationships: Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	You Might Have to Stick Around

Emily was decidedly drunk. Trashed, sloshed, fucked up. Whatever you wanted to call it, that's what she was. Currently she was sitting on the floor in her kitchen, resting against the cabinets. She huffed and took another sip of the bottle of gin sitting in front of her. ‘This is a little pathetic’ she thought. What happened to wild nights at bars and meaningless sex? She used to be cool. Now she was just sad. She would like to blame part of her current state on the fact that they had just finished a rather depressing case and everyone on the team was tired and overwhelmed. Emily was no different she guessed. But the other factor was that she just needed to let off steam without anyone there to judge her for getting sloppy. At first a quiet night at home seemed like a great idea but now it was just pathetic. 

Emily glanced at her phone and tried to think of who she wouldn't mind coming over right now and seeing her in her current state. She immediately crossed off Hotch and JJ, both of them needed time with their kids. Derek? No, she wanted him to have whatever time with Savannah he could. As much as she loved Penelope she couldn't deal with her talking right now.

Her last two options were Rossi and Reid. Rossi would definitely appreciate the invitation to drink with her but she wasn't sure she could deal with his concern for her tonight. So Spencer it was. She wasn't unhappy with this choice. Spencer was calm and had a comforting presence about him, one she wouldn't mind right about now. Plus she really wanted to see if she could get him shit faced. She grabbed her phone and dialed his number. It rang for a couple seconds, just enough time for her to worry that he had already gone to bed, before he picked up. 

“Reid here.” he chirped, sounding rather happy for someone who had just gotten off a 72 hour case without much sleep. 

“Hey Reid, it's Prentiss. I hope I didn't interrupt anything.”

“No, I was just about to go get some takeout when you called. What's up? Don't tell me there's a new case already.” she could hear receding chatter in the background. He was probably walking back out of a subway station.

“No! No new case. Thank God.” Emily said quickly. She paused for a second before continuing. “I was actually wondering if you wanted to come over. If you're not too busy with your takeout.” She said with a smile.

“Oh,” Reid started, sounding almost surprised. “Are you okay? You sound a little,” he paused again, as if thinking what to say next, “tipsy?” he concluded.

Emily laughed. “Tipsy is generous, I might be wasted.” she said. “But I’m fine, just a little lonely.” she cringed as soon as she said that. God she sounded depressing.

There was a pause on the other line again and Emily frowned. Hopefully she hadn't scared him off. Then there was a little chuckle and she grinned. 

“I would love to come over. Do you want me to bring you food too?” Spencer asked. 

“Oh god yes, i'm starving.” 

“Good, i'll be over in about half an hour.” he said and hung up the phone. 

Emily smiled and pulled herself off her floor. It was probably worthwhile to make her apartment not look like she hadn't bothered to clean it in weeks. Which she had.

Glancing across her living room from the kitchen island she was leaning against she could see two pizza boxes, blankets scattered across the floor with Sergio asleep on top of them, and at least one bra laid against the back of her couch. 

Emily sighed, she would rather not have Spencer see this side of her. She was so used to being organized and put together, but it was so nice just to let go sometimes. 

She dragged a hand across her face and looked at the blinking clock on her stove, 12:24 AM, she had about 30 minutes before Reid got there.

Emily started by picking up the bottle of alcohol off her kitchen floor and set it neatly back on the counter with the wine. She then walked into the living room and grabbed all the plates and glasses along with the pizza boxes. She set the dishes in the sink and shoved the pizza box into the recycling. 

She then set herself with the task of picking up all her clothes in one arm and grabbed Sergio in the other, carrying both up the stairs of her loft and into her bedroom. Sergio went on the bed and the clothes went in the hamper. 

She ended up just stacking all the blankets on the couch. She smiled as she fondly remembered Spencer a couple weeks earlier. 

“I don't own any throw blankets. Maybe I should invest.” Spencer said suddenly. 

Emily glanced over and almost laughed. He was leaning against the arm of the couch with two of her blankets wrapped around him. His socked feet rested against her thigh and met her eyes with a bright smile. The smile made her feel warm, seeing Spencer so happy and relaxed on her couch as they watched Star Trek. He looked so soft right now, a look he never showed at work. 

“I don't think it's really investing if they're only like $15 dollars.” she says through a laugh. He just kicked her thigh gently with his foot and turned back to the screen with a grin. 

Emily plops down on the couch and checks her phone. It was almost 12:50, Spencer should be here soon. 

As if on cue there's a knock on her door. She takes one last look around her apartment to make sure it's relatively clean before she gets up to open the door. 

She's greeted by a grinning Spencer Reid who's holding an absurd amount of takeout boxes, still has his work bag slung around his chest, and his gun is still stuck to his side. He hasn't been home yet. 

“I see you didn't disappoint with the takeout.” she laughs as she steps aside to let him in, holding back Sergio with one leg. 

“We’ve never gotten indian food together before so I had to take my best guess at what you liked.” Knowing Spencer and his profiling skills, he had probably gotten exactly what she wanted.

Emily leans back against her kitchen counter as she watches Spencer set the food down. He slips his shoes off by the door, remembering her no shoes inside rule. The man then starts to strip off his multiple layers of frozen outerwear. His nose looks slightly red along with his fingers from the cold outside. Off goes his scarf, long coat, and thick sweater, leaving him in his usual cardigan and button up. He loosens his tie and it makes her throat tighten, just a little, her eyes linger on the tiny patch of skin he's exposed. 

She takes a step back into the kitchen but stumbles a bit, quickly leaning against the counter again to try and hide her drunken staggering. But of course when you're around profilers, you can't hide anything.  
“I would spout off some facts about the relation between being intoxicated and your cognitive abilities but I actually might be too tired. That's a first.” he muses with a chuckle as he follows her into the kitchen 

That made Emily frown a bit. “Reid I don't want to keep you away from home, if you're tired you should go sleep.” The man grabs a container of food. “I’ve trained by body to work with little sleep. And honestly I don't feel like being alone right now. I’m glad you called,” he says as he walks over to her couch. “Truely.” he adds when she keeps frowning. 

Her heart clenches a little at the tone of his voice. Spencer acted so put together and sturdy all the time but she knew he wasn't. She knew that he had begun to hate his little apartment. She knew he hated that no one on the team really chose to hang out with him outside of work, but he was too non confrontational to say anything. But she also knew that he hated being coddled or being treated differently than anyone else on the team. So she had started to invite him places, to both get him out of the house, and keep him company. 

She rolls her eyes at the man's stubbornness and grabs her own box of food before walking into the living room. “Do you want to watch something?” she asks, watching Spencer as he fends off Sergio who desperately wants some of his yellow curry. He takes another bite of food while he holds back the bothersome black cat with one arm and nods. “Yes please.” he mumbles through a mouth of food. 

“How do you feel about Invasion of the Body Snatchers?” she asks, kneeling down in front of her shelf of DVDs. She normally would have reached for a horror movie of some sort but after the case they just went through that probably wasn't the best idea, for her or for Reid. 

“Sounds good.” he says distractedly, Emily glances over and sees Spencer nose to nose with her cat who's still trying to paw at the man's food. Spencer, being the ever patient saint, giggles to himself and lifts the cat into his lap. Sergio huffs but starts to circle and plops down with his head on Spencer's thigh. Emily's heart grows a size larger. “Did you know that cats actually think they're just smaller versions of us? While dogs recognize that we’re a different species.”

Emily blinks, she's just drunk enough that what he says doesn't really click in her brain, so she just mumbles out a “oh, that's interesting.” as she pushes the DVD into the DVD player and clicks on the TV. The title screen of the movie starts to play as Emily sits down on the couch next to Spencer, keeping her distance. Maybe being around him drunk wasn't the best idea.

She's still moving on auto pilot by the time the movie is halfway over. She doesn't even really remember finishing her food or anything else that's happened in the last 45 minutes. She looks over at the man on her couch and smiles. He's sitting cross legged with Sergio still asleep on his lap, and Spencer doesn't look too far behind. His eyes are only halfway open and his hand rests on the black cats back, petting in short, gentle, strokes. He seems to register that Emily is looking and him and blinks sleepily over at her. 

“Sorry I’m not much fun tonight Prentiss.” 

She shrugs. “That's alright, it's nice to just sit with someone. Even though I did kind of want to see you get trashed.” Spencer smiles and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Maybe another night.”

“Another night.” Emily agrees. What is up with her tonight, she almost can't keep her eyes off him. She's his coworker and friend. Nothing more. Of course she thinks he's good looking, there's a reason Derek calls him Pretty Boy, but she's not the type to get a “crush”. She's a grown woman, one who carries a gun all day and is paid to find serial killers. She doesn't get crushes, and definitely not on men who are 10 years her junior. God just saying the word crush makes her feel like a prepubescent teen. She can even remember the last time she went on a date, the closest thing she's done is gone to the movies or a bar with Spencer. But she didn't like him. She can't. 

“Emily?” Spencer breaks her out of her spiraling. “This is kind of embarrassing but I think the metro is already closed and I don't really want to take a cab tonight. Could I spend the night? I promise I’ll be out of your hair by morning.” 

Prentiss nods almost immediately. “Yeah of course Reid.” he smiles and yawns, stretching from his spot on the couch. A sliver of his stomach shows as his cardigan and shirt ride up and Emily’s mouth goes dry. She knows she's going to regret this in the morning but that doesn't stop her. 

“Hey Spencer?” words are coming out of her mouth without thinking about it. “Can I try something?” her mom used to drill ‘think before you speak’ into her head when she was younger but she's definitely not doing that now. 

Spencer nods. “Uh yeah, I guess.” he looks nervous. That's probably smart. 

Her brain feels like static as she leans forward and grabs the man's face. He looks stunned. “What are yo-” she cuts him off before he can finish and presses her lips against him. Oh god what was she doing? Spencer was warm. That's the only thing her brain could process. He was warm and soft under her lips. And she could almost feel his cheeks burning up under her finger tips. Emily pulled back quickly. 

Spencer blinks up at her owlishly. There's a pause where Emilys trying to figure out how to apologize and Spencer is shell shocked. Before she can even start rambling out apologizes and excuses Spencer opens his mouth. 

“No ones ever done that before.” 

“Kissed you?” she asks, slightly terrified. She might have to move into hiding if she was just Reids first kiss. She blesses whatever god is in the sky when he shakes his head.

“Kissed me like that. Without prompt.” his tone is surprisingly even. Emily manages a smile even though her heart is racing. 

“I'm really sorry Reid. Tonight I'm just going to blame it on being drunk but we can talk about it in the morning.”

“Would it be bad if I said I didn't really mind?” he looks down at his lap. Sergio has left since Emily had jostled Spencer when she grabbed him.

Emily’s static filled brain wouldn't let her comprehend his words before she reached out and kissed him again. This time he doesn't freeze, he sets his hands on her shoulders awkwardly. It isn't much better than him staying still. 

She pulls back a little bit. “Promise you're okay with this?”

“Promise.” Emily barely lets him get the words out of his mouth before he crashes her lips against his again. She swings a leg over his thighs so she's resting on her knees as she straddles his lap and grabs Spencer's hands. She moves one to her waist and one to her neck. For someone who acts like a naive, bumbling, nerd most of the time the BAU’s resident genius is certainly not a bad kisser. He tastes like spice and indian food which might be a little off putting to others but she doesn't mind. His lips are soft and she can feel his breath lightly against her upper lip. He even smells nice, like old paper and cedar. To put it lightly, she wants to jump his bones. Spencer seems to gain his bearings as he moves one of his hands up to her face and she can feel his thumb brush against her cheekbones. Emily smiles into the kiss and brings one of her hands up to thread into the man's curls, she then proceeds to pull lightly. He groans softly and lets her hands pull his head back slightly. God he sounded so pretty. Spencer's hand tightened on Emily's waist, causing her shirt to bunch up under his hand. Long, cold fingers touching the bare skin on her stomach, making her to shiver and goosebumps to appear on her skin. This was turning out better than she could have hoped.

Spencer pulls back slightly and she can hear him quietly try to catch his breath. “Who taught you how to do that Reid?” Emily asks breathlessly. 

“Would you believe me if I said I read up on it?” he asks and tilts his head. Emily laughs loudly. “Of course you did Reid.”

“Considering we just finished making out maybe you can call me Spencer now. Reid seems a little formal.”

“Okay Spencer.”

He smiles widely, a look that suits him. His hair is mused and looks messy from her fingers running through it and his tie is even looser than before. He looks a little disheveled. 

“Well I think that sobered me up.” Emily says with a small laugh, still not quite believing what had just happened. “Actually did you know that even though you may feel like you've been sobered up when something serious happens, the same amount of alcohol still remains in your bloodstream, but your brain confuses the feeling of being alert with being sober.” Well he was still the same old Spencer. 

There's an awkward pause where she doesn't say anything and they both realize she's essentially sitting on his lap. But he doesn't ask her to move, in fact he just looks up at her, looking partially calm and at peace with their current arrangement. He even yawns, which means he truly is comfortable with her.

“Do you want to talk about what just happened?” she asks.

The man shakes his head. “Not right now, I don't think anything I said would be coherent.” 

“Spencer you just spouted off facts about me being drunk.” a light blush now covered his face.

“Emotions are different. They…” he pauses and licks his lips nervously. “They confuse me. I'm not used to thinking about how I feel about things.”

Emily swings her leg over Spencer's lap again so flops back against the couch beside him. “You're not the only one.” she turns her face to look at Spencer, who awkwardly smiles.

“We should probably go to bed soon. We’re going to regret this in the morning.”

Emily swallows past a lump in her throat. “Regret this?” she asks, praying he doesn't mean her kissing him.

Spencer's eyes go wide and his hands shoot up in a gesture of panic. “No! Not this! I just mean you being hungover and tired!” She lets out a breath of relief. Oh thank God. “What a gentleman.” She says with a hint of sarcasm.

He rolls his eyes. “Let's get you to bed Em.” he says, obviously done with her antics. Emily smiles at the nickname and nods. It was probably time to cut her losses and go to bed before she did something to ruin the night. Spencer stands up and walks to her kitchen and grabs a glass of water before walking back. “This will help with your hangover tomorrow.” he says as he hands her the glass. “We don't want a repeat of Vegas.” he teases.

“If you think that's a bad hangover you haven't seen me at my worst.” she laughs.

“I might just have to stick around then.” Spencer undoubtedly looks nervous but his face breaks into a grin anyway and Emily follows.

“I think you might.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first work I've ever published! It's probably riddled with grammatical errors but I hoped you enjoyed it none the less! Comments/constructive criticism are much appreciated!
> 
> Follow my Tumblr! https://palmtreesgoodnight.tumblr.com/


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